Barclays announces new £1bn fund for housing with government

Barclays today announces that it has teamed up with the UK Government to provide £1bn of development finance to help build thousands of new homes across England to help increase the pace and volume of housing provision.

Loans ranging from £5 million to £100 million, which will be competitively priced, are available for developers and house builders who are able to demonstrate the necessary experience and track record to undertake and complete their proposed project. Funding is open to new clients as well as existing Barclays clients, and will put greater emphasis on diversifying the housing market, as at present, almost two-thirds of homes are built by just ten companies.

A key priority of TheHousing Delivery Fund is to support small and medium sized businesses to develop homes for rent or sale including social housing, retirement living and the private rented sector, whilst also supporting innovation in the model of delivery such as brownfield land and urban regeneration projects.

Launching the fund, John McFarlane, Barclays’ Chairman, said: “There is a vital need to build more good quality homes across the country. This £1bn fund is about helping to do exactly that by showing firms in the business of house building that the right finance is available for projects that help meet this urgent need.

“We are very pleased to be working with government to get the country building more homes, more quickly.”